Former Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino is scheduled to be introduced as Western Kentucky University's new football coach Monday afternoon. / Gerald Herbert, AP

by Dan Wolken, USA TODAY Sports

by Dan Wolken, USA TODAY Sports

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. â?? Eight months ago, Bobby Petrino was fired from one of the most high-profile jobs in college football, his $3.5 million salary gone and his name forever tied to a scandal involving a motorcycle and a mistress.

But Monday, in a standing-room-only suite that sits atop Western Kentucky's L.T. Smith Stadium, Petrino was once again a rock star with a new job and a fresh start. After a news conference to introduce him as the Hilltoppers' new coach, Petrino was swarmed by fans asking for autographs and pictures, his smile and contrition instantly charming a fledgling football school hungry for big-time success.

"I think what it comes down to is, he made a big mistake and he acknowledges that and he's taken ownership for that and paid a heavy price for it," athletic director Todd Stewart said. "But this is the United States of America, and this is a country of second chances and I was confident after talking with him and talking to other people that he deserved a second chance and we're more than happy to give it to him."

Petrino, 51, didn't sidestep questions about his job-hopping past or the mistake he made at Arkansas, which was forced to fire him April 10 after discovering he misled athletic director Jeff Long about the nature of his relationship with a female member of his administrative staff. After the public embarrassment and personal turmoil of the past eight months, Petrino called it a "family decision" to jump back into coaching and was thankful to return to a state where he built his reputation as one of the nation's best offensive minds at Louisville between 2003 and 2006.

"I have basically spent the last eight months working with my family, trying to make things right with my wife Becky and with my children," Petrino said. "We've been in counseling and I have learned a lot about myself. I'm really excited about this opportunity. I didn't know if I would get it or if I wouldn't."

That Petrino, who boasts a 75-26 career record, was unsure of landing a spot on the coaching carousel this year speaks to the massive hit his reputation took in April.

Though Petrino made enemies at nearly every stop in his career â?? "I think the best way to describe how we feel is betrayed," Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank said after Petrino took the Arkansas job with three games left in the 2007 NFL season â?? his name became more toxic than ever after the Arkansas fallout. Petrino had virtually no meaningful contact with representatives at any of the four Southeastern Conference schools with head coach openings this year and instead targeted lower-level jobs at Southern Miss and Arkansas State, where he had conversations late last week.

But in Western Kentucky, a program that moved up to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2008, Petrino may have found the ideal spot to rehabilitate his image. After going 0-12 in 2009, the Hilltoppers steadily improved under Willie Taggart, who led the team to a 7-5 record this season and then left for South Florida last Friday.

Knowing as far back as October that Taggart might move on after this season, Stewart said he did weeks of research on Petrino and talked with officials at Arkansas, though he refused to say specifically if he spoke to Long, who declined comment to USA TODAY Sports. Stewart made contact with Petrino late Friday night, they spoke by phone Saturday and the deal was consummated after Petrino and his wife spent Monday morning on campus. Petrino will make $850,000 in base salary, nearly double the $475,000 Taggart was paid, and will owe the school $1.2 million if he leaves before the end of the four-year contract.

"I'm confident he'll be here awhile," Stewart said. "I hope he's here for a long time, but it really comes down to, are we getting better every year? No one person is bigger than the program. The important thing is the program continues to develop and go to places it's never been before. You need a field general to give you a best chance to have that happen, and he's the best one out there for us."

Nobody will doubt that Western Kentucky, a Sun Belt program that receives little national attention, made a program-changing hire on Monday. Already, they were talking about becoming the next Boise State here and brushing off any negative attention Petrino might bring.

"People all over the world have sex," Phil Wiseman, a 68-year old season ticket holder, responded when asked how Petrino would be received in the Bible Belt. "Having a coach the caliber of Bobby Petrino in Bowling Green, Kentucky, is a great thing."

And for Petrino, who will be somewhat out of the spotlight here, it's a chance to address his past head-on while showing he's still among the best at what he does.

"I'm still going to be very focused, very driven and very demanding," he said. "That's how you have success, but I'm going to coach the person now more, not just the player. I can be even more of an influence outside of football."